Garment having readily changeable decorative inserts

ABSTRACT

A DRESS OR LIKE GARMENT HAVING A TRANSPARENT OUTER WALL AND MEANS FORMING COMPARTMENTS FOR READILY REPLACEABLE OPAQUE DECORATIVE INSERTS BEHIND THE TRANSPARENT OUTER WALL. THE DECORATIVE INSERTS SPAN THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE TOTAL SURFACE AREA OF THE GARMENT.

June 8, 1971 J.- M. KELLER 3,582,993

GARMENT HAVING READILY CHANGEABLE DECORATIVE INSERTS Filed May 9, 1969 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR JOANNE M. KELLER ATTORNEY June 8, 1971 J KELLER3,582,993

GARMENT HAVING READILY CHANGEABLE DECORATIVE INSERTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed May 9, 1969 United States Paten 3,582,993 GARMENT HAVING READILYCHANGEABLE DECORATIVE INSERTS Joanne M. Keller, 2906 Cortland Place NW.,Washington, D.C. 20008 Filed May 9, 1969, Ser. No. 823,387 Int. Cl. A41d1/22 US. Cl. 2-74 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dress or likegarment having a transparent outer wall and means forming compartmentsfor readily replaceable opaque decorative inserts behind the transparentouter wall. The decorative inserts span the major portion of the totalsurface area of the garment.

The objective of the invention is to provide a dress, shift or like bodygarment which will be appealing to the eye and unique and havingprovision for quickly and easily changing the color and the designpattern of the garment over substantiall its entire area in a veryeconomical manner. In accordance with the invention, a dress or shift isprovided whose appearance may be completely and strikingly changed withan almost endless variety of colors and patterns by the mere removal ofdecorative inserts from pockets or compartments provided in the garmentbehind a transparent outer wall. Decorative inserts formed of wrappingpaper may be readily cut by the user to provide beautiful colors andpatterns not readily obtainable by the use of ordinary woven fabrics orprinted fabrics. The compartments for receiving the inserts are formedin a very simple and economical manner and the entire garment ischaracterized by simplicity and economy in materials employed andrelative ease of manufacture. The transparent outer wall of the garmentadds greatly to its unique appearance and renders the exterior of thegarment easy to clean by merely wiping with a damp cloth. The style andoverall configuration of the garment and the closure means therefor maybe varied as desired.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear to thoseskilled in the art during the course of the following detaileddescription.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of agarment embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view thereof.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the garment in a laid out or flatcondition, partly broken away.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of garment components.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a portion of thegarment body and the manner of placing a decorative insert in acompartment thereof.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partly diagrammatic and partly exploded verticalsection taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a similar section taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a modification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawingsin detail wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout thesame, the numeral designates a single rectangular sheet of transparentplastic or like material constituting the outer layer or wall of thegarment. Durable thin sheet plastics are available which are resistantto flame, staining and stretching. Such materials are also quite softand flexible and may have a high lustre to add tothe unique appearanceof the garment. If desired, other forms of transparent or nearlytransparent material may be used for the garment outer layer.

The garment further comprises an interior layer or lining formed ofcloth and preferably formed in two separate rectangular sections 16 and17, the cloth section 16 forming the skirt portion of the garment andthe section 17 forming the chest or bosom portion of the garment innerwall. Intervened between the inner and outer garment walls is alatticework of ribbon or other similar relatively narrow strip materialshown generally at 18 in FIG. 4 and this ribbon latticework, whenappropriately stitched to the garment inner and outer walls, coactstherewith to form the compartments or pockets for the readily changeabledecorative inserts, to be described.

More particularly, a single main compartment spanning the entire skirtportion of the garment is formed by a pair of horizontal ribbons orstrips 19 and 20 and a pair of side vertical ribbons or strips 21 and22. Referring to FIG. 6, the lower horizontal strip 20 is stitched tothe fabric inner wall section 16 by a horizontal line of stitching 23along the bottom edges of the elements 20 and 16. This leaves the upperedge of the strip 20 free from attachment to the cloth section 16 andthe lower edge of the transparent front wall 15 is unattached to theelements 16 and 211', as shown. The ribbon or strip 19 is attached tothe elements 15 and 16 by a horizontal line of stitching 24 extendingentirely across the width of the flattened garment, as shown in FIG. 3.The lower horizontal edge of the strip 19 remains free or unattached asshown in FIG. 6.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 7 and also FIG. 8, the side ribbons or strips21 and 22 are similarly stitched along their outer edges to both theinterior wall sections 16 and 17 and the exterior transparent wall 15 bycontinuous lines of stitching 25. This leaves the inner edges of thestrips 21 and 22 free and unattached. It may now be clearly seen thatthe several strips 19, 20, 21 and 22 form a rectangular marginal frameor marginal pocket-forming means for the edge portions of a readilyreplaceable main decorative insert 26 formed of colored and decoratedornate drapping paper or some similar sheet ma terial which issubstantially opaque and sufficiently flexible to be suitable. Theinsert 26 is in one piece and is rectangular and of a size whereby itsmarginal edge portions will fit readily behind the strips 19, 20, 21 and22 and be held thereby between these strips and the cloth section 16, asshown in FIGS. 3 and 8 clearly. No other securing means for the insert26 is required and the insert remains firmly in place and cannot beshaken out of the garment even by violent agitation mainly due to thesupporting action of the lower ribbon or strip 20. Incidentally, theribbon latticework may be formed in any suitable blending or contrastingcolor scheme. It is emphasized that the insert 26 extends oversubstantially the entire skirt portion of the dress and renders theappearance of this portion of the garment easily changeable so that analmost infinite variety of decorative appearances can be provided by theuser.

In this connection, it is felt that one of the more interesting featuresof the invention, particularly for the young, is that considerableamusement and pleasure can be derived from seeking suitable materialsfor the decorative inserts, cutting them and fashioning them in someinstances with paints and the like, whose individually is desired.Inserts with flowers, figures, printed slogans, comic pictures and thelike may be utilized.

Above the strip 19 and parallel therewith is another horizontalcompartment forming strip 27 having its lower edge stitched between thetransparent garment front wall and the inner cloth section 17 by ahorizontal line of stitching 28 adjacent the bottom of the cloth section17. The upper edge of the strip 17 is unattached as shown clearly inFIG. 6. A similar ribbon or strip 29, chiefly to provide a finishedappearance for the top edge of the garment, is attached by a horizontalline of stitching to the front wall 15 along the top edge of the same.The strips 29, 27, 19 and 20 are all joined to the side strips 21 and 22by the vertical lines of stitching 25. The chest or bosom portion of thegarment between the horizontal strips 27 and 29 is preferably divided bya short vertical ribbon or strip 31, secured at its middle to the frontwall 15 and cloth section 17 by a vertical line of stitching 32, thelongitudinal edges of this strip 31 being free and unattached as shownin FIG. 7. The strip 31 is at the transverse center of the garment, FIG.3.

It may now be seen that the horizontal strips 27 and 29, the verticalstrip 31 and the upper portions of the side strips 21 and 22 formframe-like compartments or pockets for a pair of rectangular decorativeopaque chest or bosom inserts 33 which, like the single insert 26, areeasily insertable into and removable from the chest compartments of thegarment and are very secure therein. These chest inserts 33 togetherspan the entire chest and back portions of the garment as worn on thebody, FIGS. 1 and 2. A relatively narrow midriif section 34 formed bythe transparent garment front wall 15 bridges the space between the twohorizontal strips 19 and 27. If desired, the vertical strip or ribbon 31may be extended downwardly across the midriif area 34 for added strengthbut this is not essential.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the opaque decorative inserts 26 and 33 haveall of their marginal edges inserted behind the holding strips orribbons of the latticework 18 and the inserts are totally sandwiched inbetween the transparent from wall 15 and cloth rear wall sections 16 and17.

Suitable shoulder suspension straps 35 are applied to the top edge ofthe composite garment, as shown, and optionally, tie elements 36 may beprovided at the elevation of the tape or strip 27. A conventional zipperclosure including elements 37 and 38 is preferably provided at the backof the garment extending for its entire height. Alternatively, snaps,buttons or some other form of closure means may be utilized. Also, ifpreferred, the zipper elements 37 and 38 may be utilized only for theskirt portion adjacent the insert 26 and the remainder of the back ofthe garment may be tied or the upper portion of the garment above thewaist may be narrowed so that the dress is backless. Various styleoptions are available without departing from the essential concept ofthe invention which consists in the use of a transparent outer layer orWall with readily changeable pocketed opaque decorative inserts spanningthe major surface area of the dress or garment. As illustrated in FIGS.1 and 2, the garment is in the form of a simple short length tubularshift, such as might be appropriate in warm weather at summer resorts orthe like. However. the garment structure is applicable to a wide varietyof uses and environments, even though its form and quality may changesomewhat depending upon a particular application.

FIG. 9 of the drawings shows a possible modification of the inventionwhich may be identical in its construction to that already describedexcept for one feature. Instead of the outer garment wall being formedof transparent plastic or the like, as shown at 15 in the previousembodiment, such outer wall may be formed by a rectangular section 39 ofwide open mesh, similar to fish netting. In such case, the transparentcharacteristics of the outer garment layer are essentially preserved andan interesting eifect or appearance is obtained when the same changeabledecorative inserts and other previouslydescribed features are employed.

Additional variations in appearance are attainable by employingdiiferent colors and contrasting designs for the inserts 33 and 26. Alsothe large compartment for insert 26 could be divided by an extensiondownwardly of the strip 31, in which case two inserts at the skirtregion having contrasting designs could be employed instead of a singleinsert. Quite obviously, a wide range of appearances can be created bythe user, adding greatly to the utility of the garment and to thepleasure derived from its use. In eifect, a complete dress wardrobecould be created by providing a variety of inserts.

I claim:

1. A dress or the like comprising an initially fiat body portion havingclosure means thereon enabling the body portion to assume a generallytubular form on the body of a wearer, said body portion having anexterior substantially transparent wall and an interior wall, a latticeof strip elements intervened between said walls and attached theretoalong certain lines and forming with said walls framed compartments insaid dress body portion said compartments open along at least one edgeportion thereof, and readily changeable decorative substantially opaqueinserts of sheet material mountable in the framed compartments with edgeportions of the inserts overlapped by said strip elements of saidlattice, said inserts spanning a major portion of the total surface areaof said dress body portion, thereby enabling substantially the entiredress to have its appearance changed.

2. The structure of claim 1, and said body portion, exterior transparentwall, interior Wall, framed compartments and decorative inserts beinggenerally rectangular.

3. The structure of claim 1, and said exterior Wall formed oftransparent sheet plastic, said interior wall formed of cloth, saidstrip elements formed of ribbon and said inserts formed of decorativepaper.

4. The structure of claim 1, and said exterior wall formed of wide meshnetting and said interior wall formed of cloth.

5. The structure of claim 1, and a transparent midriff area portion onthe dress body portion formed by the exterior transparent wall, saidlattice of strip elements forming a major skirt area compartment and apair of chest high compartments below and above said midriff areaportion.

6. A decorative garment which assumes a substantially tubular form whenworn on the body and which is initially flat and substantiallyrectangular prior to donning comprising an exterior substantiallytransparent wall, an in-- terior wall of flexible sheet materialgenerally coextensive with the exterior transparent wall, a framework ofrelatively narrow ribbon elements intervened between said Walls andattached thereto to form with the Walls framed compartments in thegarment for readily interchangeable decorative inserts of sheetmaterial, each compartment having at least one open edge portion toallow entry and removal of an insert, and readily changeable decorativesheet inserts mountable within the framed compartments with edgeportions of said inserts overlapped by said ribbon elements whereby thelatter position and support the inserts, the inserts collectivelyspanning the major por-- tion of the total area of the garment so thatthe garment may have its total appearance changed by changing saidinserts.

7. The structure of claim 6, and said framework of ribbon elementsforming on the garment a lower main insert compartment which opens atthe bottom and at least one upper chest covering compartment which opensat the top.

8. The structure of claim 6, and said framework of ribbon elementsforming on the garment a lower main rectangular insert compartmentspanning substantially the full width of the garment when the latter isfiat, said main compartment opening at the bottom edge of the garment,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/ 1949' Ackley 274 6/ 1958Townley 2-49 3,018,486 1/1962 Bul pan 2--87 3,055,133 9/1962 Anderson40--129(A) FOREIGN PATENTS 963,526 1/1950 France 267 H. HAMPTON HUNTER,Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

